The Inbox brings comments, mentions, direct messages and reviews from your connected accounts into one list, so you can answer everything without opening each app.
It is part of the paid plans:
- Creator: comments, mentions and Google reviews.
- Growth and Agency: everything in Creator, plus Facebook and Instagram direct messages and assigning conversations to teammates.
How the inbox is laid out
On a wide screen the inbox has three panels:
- Filters on the left: status (Open, Snoozed, Done), type, network, account, who it is assigned to, and quick switches for unread, has a question and negative tone.
- Conversations in the middle, newest first. A blue New tag means there is something you have not read.
- The conversation on the right, with the post it belongs to, every reply, your internal notes and the reply box.
On a phone you see the list first. Tap a conversation to open it, and use Back to the list to return.
Replying
- Open a conversation.
- Write your reply in the box at the bottom. The counter shows the network's length limit.
- Click Send reply (or press Ctrl or Cmd + Enter).
Your reply is posted from your account on that network, straight away, in public for comments, mentions and reviews, and privately for direct messages. Editors, admins and owners can reply. Viewers and contributors can read, mark conversations done and add notes.
Saved replies: click Saved replies to insert one of your saved snippets. These are the same snippets the composer uses. To save a new one, write it, then choose Save as a saved reply.
Suggest a reply: click Suggest a reply and the writing assistant drafts two options using your brand voice. Each suggestion costs 1 AI credit, refunded if it fails. Always read and edit a suggestion before you send it.
Like, hide and delete
The buttons under each message only appear where the network allows them:
- Like likes the comment as your Page or account.
- Hide hides a comment from the public without deleting it. The person who wrote it can usually still see it.
- Delete removes it from the network for everyone. You are asked to confirm first.
Staying organised
- Done moves a conversation out of Open. A new message reopens it.
- Snooze hides it until a time you choose (1 hour, tomorrow at 9:00 or a week). It comes back as unread.
- Mark unread keeps it in view as new.
- Assign (Growth and Agency) gives it to a teammate. Filter by Assigned to: Me to see your own list.
- Internal notes are only seen by your team and are never posted.
- Unread counts show next to Inbox in the menu.
Keyboard shortcuts
Press ? in the inbox to see them: j and k move down and up the list, r replies, e marks done, s snoozes until tomorrow, u marks unread or read, a assigns to you, n adds a note and / jumps to search.
Alerts
Alerts for new comments, messages and reviews are off by default. To get them by email, in the app or as a push notification, open Settings, then Notifications and switch on the inbox events you want.
Negative tone (optional AI)
Admins can switch on Flag negative messages with AI in Inbox settings. While it is on, new messages are checked and complaints are tagged Negative, so you can filter for them. It uses 1 AI credit for every batch of up to 20 new messages, and only while it is switched on. It is off by default.
What each network supports
Skylane only uses each network's official API. Some networks need to approve Skylane before a feature can be switched on. Until then the inbox shows that network as awaiting approval, and nothing is faked.
| Network | What comes in | What you can do | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facebook Pages | Comments on your Page's posts, Messenger messages (Growth and up) | Reply, like, hide, delete comments; reply to messages | Needs Meta's approval. Messages can only be answered within 24 hours of the person's last message. |
| Instagram (professional accounts) | Comments, mentions, direct messages (Growth and up) | Reply, hide, delete comments; reply to mentions and messages | Needs Meta's approval. Instagram has no API for liking comments. The 24-hour message window applies. |
| YouTube | Comments on your channel's videos | Reply, hide (hold for review), delete your own replies | Checked every 30 minutes. YouTube data is kept for 30 days at most. |
| Comments on your company page's posts | Reply, like, delete | Company pages only, after LinkedIn approves Skylane for its Community Management API. LinkedIn does not share commenters' names with apps, so they show as "LinkedIn member". Personal profiles are not supported. | |
| Threads | Replies to your posts | Reply, hide | Needs Meta's approval. |
| Bluesky | Replies, mentions and quotes | Reply, like, hide replies in threads you started | Checked every 10 minutes. |
| X | Mentions and replies | Reply, like, hide replies to your posts | Off until a workspace admin opts in, because X charges for every post an app reads (about $0.005 each, and $0.015 per reply sent). Set a monthly budget in Inbox settings; Skylane stops checking X for the month when it is reached. |
| Google Business Profile | Reviews of your locations | Reply, delete your reply | Needs Google's Business Profile API approval. Reviews themselves cannot be hidden or deleted. |
| TikTok | Not supported yet | TikTok only offers comment access through its separate API for Business, for TikTok Business accounts. Skylane's TikTok connection cannot read comments. | |
| Not supported | Pinterest does not offer an API for comments. |
How quickly things arrive
Facebook, Instagram and Threads send new comments and messages to Skylane as they happen. The other networks are checked on a schedule (every 10 to 60 minutes depending on the network). Admins can click Check now to look straight away.
How long inbox data is kept
- Comments, mentions and reviews: 12 months after the last activity.
- Direct messages: 180 days.
- YouTube comments: 30 days (YouTube's rule). LinkedIn company page comments: 6 months.
- When you disconnect an account, its inbox data is deleted.
See the Privacy Policy for the full details.